


Fight or Flight

by sartiebodyshots



Series: Happily Ever Before [4]
Category: Falling Skies
Genre: Gen, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-17
Updated: 2015-03-17
Packaged: 2018-03-18 08:26:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3562913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sartiebodyshots/pseuds/sartiebodyshots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post one of Ben’s not-so-good baseball games, a couple bullies are rude and Hal will not stand for it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fight or Flight

            It’s right after a real rough game- Ben’s team has lost by a crazy amount and it, maybe, was kind of Ben’s fault.  He’s not much of an athlete, Hal knows it, but he tries real hard and has fun with it, usually. 

            Not today, though.  His brother is dragging his feet as they walk back to their van.  It probably didn’t help that Hal’s game was right after, and Hal had hit a homerun. 

Hal slows down so that he’s next to Ben. 

            “Hey,” Hal says, nudging him gently, “you did good today.”

            Ben just glares at him.  Clearly, he’s going to need something stronger to cheer him up.

            “Maybe we can go get ice cream?” Hal says a little louder, so Mom and Dad can hear him.

            Mom turns back to look at him and shakes her head.  “You know the rules.  We went last time, so no ice cream this time.”

            “Awwww, Mom,” Hal complains, but he’s gratified when Ben flashes him a little smile.

            “I can’t believe that kid couldn’t catch that pop fly,” a voice comes from behind him, and Ben freezes. 

            “It came right at him and he ran away,” another voice chimes in and Ben kind of looks like he’s about to cry.

            There’s no way to console Ben that they’re not talking about him- they definitely are.  So Hal does the only thing he can do; he turns around and plants his feet firmly on the ground.  Both of the kids are kind of short- they’re Ben’s age after all- so Hal figures he can look kind of scary to them.

            “Shut up!” Hal tells them sternly.  “That’s my brother you’re talking about.”

            “Aww, standing up for your nerd brother,” one of them says, and that’s it.

            Hal launches himself at the kid and tackles him to the ground.  It’s a rough landing, but at least the kid is softer than the ground.  He’s not entirely sure what to do next since he doesn’t want to totally beat the kid up (well, he kinda does), but he doesn’t have to make a decision because two pairs of hands grab him and pull him off of the kid.

            He’s spun around so he’s staring in both of his parents’ disapproving faces.  Ben’s hovering behind them, looking kind of scared but also kind of happy too.  Good.

            “Hal!  That’s not how we raised you to behave,” Mom says sternly.

            “They were making fun of Ben!” Hal protests.  “They called him a nerd.  Only I can call him a nerd.”  And usually he means it in the nice way.

            “Get back to the car,” Dad says, giving him a gentle nudge.

            Hal sets his jaw firmly and marches to the car, grabbing Ben on his way by, just in case the other kids start talking again. 

            “Thanks,” Ben whispers when they’re both buckled in.  “Also, you played really well today.  That homerun was so cool!”

            Hal smiles under his brother’s praise.  He smiles even wider when Mom pulls into the ice cream shop’s parking lot.

            “But I thought that we couldn’t get ice cream today?” Ben asks, clearly confused.

            Hal wants to elbow him; you don’t question it when you get extra ice cream.  Ben can be a dummy sometimes. 

            “Sometimes it’s alright to break the rules,” Mom explains, looking at Hal in the rearview mirror and giving him a sly grin. 


End file.
